Mar 27

Your Guide to Epic Inn-to-Inn Hiking in the Alps

Explore the charm of inn-to-inn trekking with our handpicked routes across Europe’s most magnificent landscapes. From the dramatic peaks of the majestic Berner Oberland to the rugged Pyrénées, each adventure promises delicious cuisine, excellent accommodations and rich culture. Whether you’re drawn to the iconic Mont Blanc or seeking a quieter escape in the French Alps, our guided and self-guided trips cater to every level of hiker. Book your trek today and let us start planning your upcoming adventure!

Berner Oberland Trek

The Berner Oberland is one of the most dramatically scenic regions of Switzerland. The stars of the show are the three legendary summits that tower above the Oberland: The Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. Below these peaks is the Lauterbrunnen Valley, a glacial valley that has hundreds of waterfalls cascading down thousands of feet to the valley floor. The scenery in the Berner Oberland is as dramatic as the hiking experience itself. Here you get the chance to ascend high passes, cross rocky mountain bowls, and spend nights in the region’s isolated Berghotels. If you are looking for a more relaxed experience our easy-going, Pastoral Berner Oberland trek explores the gentler slopes of these incredible mountains.

Eiger Trail

The Eiger Trail trek is the ultimate way to experience the Berner Oberland. Beginning all the way in the Alpine foothills in Gstaad, the trek covers over 65 miles on foot, and follows the mountains as they rise towards the core massif around the Jungfrau. The pinnacle in village-to-village trekking, you overnight at eight of the most charming villages in the Berner Oberland region. This trek stands as the longest and most dramatic itinerary we offer in the Berner Oberland and is perfect for those who are looking for a complete and uncompromising experience of the region.

The Eiger Trail is offered Guided and Self-Guided.

Matterhorn Trek

The Matterhorn Trek is a hiking route that by all rights should be as famous as the Tour du Mont Blanc, but somehow remains a relative secret. Our itinerary begins on the Italian side of the Matterhorn in Cervinia and travels through dozens of isolated villages on the Italian side of the peak where the remote Walser culture is alive and well. As the trail transitions to the Swiss side of the border, the villages become noticeably more populated. This is because both Saas-Fee and Zermatt are iconic mountain destinations where visitors will come from all over the world to hike, climb, ski, or just enjoy a coffee in the relaxed surroundings of the village’s pedestrian cores. Along the hike, the views of the Matterhorn, Breithorn, and Monte Rosa, are all massive, and the hiking days are equally so.

The Matterhorn Trek is offered Guided and Self-Guided.

Tour du Mont Blanc

The Tour du Mont Blanc truly needs no introduction. The route, which circumnavigates the highest mountain in Western Europe, has quickly become the most popular hiking tour in Europe. Chamonix is the perfect launching place for the tour, where you can ride a cable car to just below the summit of the Mont Blanc, visit the guides guild, and enjoy a night out with the village’s multinational population. The trek passes through three different countries: France, Italy, and Switzerland. Along the way, you’ll experience the unique cultural differences between each valley, such as enjoying a perfect cup of Italian Coffee in the morning and then fondue made of local Swiss cheeses at night.

For the best chance to hike this route, we suggest planning as far ahead as possible, ideally up to a year in advance. Only pre-booked dates are available for our Self-Guided Tour du Mont Blanc trek. Our Guided TMB trips in June and August fill up quickly and we limit the number of guests to 13 ensuring a personalized experience.

French Alps: Chamonix-Mont Blanc to Val d’Isère

If you are looking for a quieter experience in the Mont Blanc region, our guided French Alps tour offers an escape from the crowds. Journeying to the relatively unexplored Val d’Isère in the Tarentaise Valley, in southeastern France, we visit several hidden gems along the way. Val d’Isère is a popular ski destination, but in the summer the region’s green mountain pastures and snow-capped peaks are as quiet as can be. This itinerary still affords the opportunity to see both Chamonix and the Mont Blanc, but instead of following the predetermined route of the Tour du Mont Blanc, Ryder-Walker has built a much more custom experience linking some of our favorite hikes and secret places.

Haute Pyrénées Mountain Trek: From France to Spain

The High Pyrénées are some of the more rugged and remote mountains in Europe. Here the craggy summits lie far away from any major urban areas, with a collection of mountain huts and small Basque villages providing ideal staging grounds for exploring the mountains. This itinerary differs slightly from our other village-to-village treks as it spends multiple nights in the villages of Cauterets, Gavarnie, and Torla where you get to soak up the unique Basque culture as well as set out on some truly stunning day hikes. While the Pyrénées do appear particularly rugged, the hiking is relatively accessible, with some longer days and occasional stretches of walking making this guided itinerary more of a moderate-difficulty adventure.

Via Ladinia: Heart of the Dolomites

Whether you are looking to visit the Italian Dolomites for the first time or have already walked our Italian Dolomites Trek but can’t wait to return to the magnificent mountain range, the Via Ladinia trek is the perfect itinerary for you. This route begins along the Italian-Austrian border where the unique Italian Tyrolean culture is found, and German is the most common spoken language. As we progress deeper into the mountains, we enter Ladinia, a region where the Ladin people proudly preserve their unique heritage and language, distinct from both Italian and German cultures.

With multiple nights in excellent three and four-star hotels, an overnight in one of the most beautiful rifugios in Italy, and the chance to experience some of the less visited corners of the Dolomites, the Via Ladinia is a trek that has something for everyone.

Our easy-going, self-guided itinerary, Via Ladinia Pastoral, includes less difficult variants for each hike, so either the most avid hiker or someone looking for a relaxing time in the mountains can enjoy this unique region.

The Via Ladinia trek is offered Guided and Self-Guided.

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